After they got out of the car and walked toward the house, Maggie’s mum rushed over to them. “Is Maggie with you?”
“No,” Cydney said. “What’s going on?”
“She hasn’t come home yet. She never stays out this late. For some reason I woke up and decided to see if she was home. Seeing her bed not slept in, I went downstairs to wait. That was an hour ago.”
“Maybe she’s still with Ali and Carol.”
“She’s not. I called them already. I woke them up and they both said they left the nightclub with Maggie two hours ago. We were about to drive there and see if we can find her.”
Anytime Wulfric heard of someone missing in the middle of the night, the first thought that came to mind was one of Fenris’ get. Their preying on mortals accounted for a fair amount of unexplained disappearances.
“I’ll go look for Maggie,” he said to her mother. “It’s best if you and your husband stay at home in case she calls. If she does, Cydney has my mobile number.”
Cydney shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“I think it would work out better if you stayed here.”
While they spoke, Maggie’s father had joined them. He cleared his throat. “I would prefer if Cydney did go with you, Wulfric. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
Seeing the determined look on Cydney’s face, he knew she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He nodded. “Okay, I’ll take Cydney with me. I’ll give you my mobile number in case Maggie shows up on her own. And I’ll be sure to call if we find her.”
They only waited long enough for Maggie’s mother to go inside for a piece of paper and pen to take his number before Cydney and he were back on the road headed for the nightclub.
“I hope nothing bad happened,” Cydney said as she stared out the passenger window.
“There’s no point thinking anything negative just yet.”
He sure as hell hoped one of the werewolves hadn’t gotten to Maggie. Even though female mortals could be turned with one bite just as males could, Fenris’ get hadn’t been targeting women to bring into the pack for some time. It had gone all male.
But that didn’t mean they didn’t prey upon them with their thirst for flesh and blood.
The streets were pretty well empty at this time of night. Wulfric sped down them, wanting to get to the nightclub as fast as possible. If two hours had gone by since Maggie had last been seen just about anything could have happened, especially if she ended up falling prey to a werewolf.
At the nightclub, he pulled into the parking lot, and Cydney stiffened. She leaned forward and looked out the windscreen as she put her hands on the dash. “The white car, Wulfric. It’s Maggie’s mother’s--the one she drove tonight.”
Seeing the lone, white car in the parking lot did not bode well for Maggie. He parked two spots away from it, not wanting to contaminate the area any more than it already had. If he were lucky, there was an off chance he could pick up the scent of a werewolf if one had been involved.
Wulfirc got out of the car first, and using his preternatural speed, while Cydney was busy getting out of her side, circled the white vehicle. His heart dropped when he spotted a set of keys lying on the ground by the driver’s side. He leaned in closer to the door and took a sniff, detecting the one scent he’d hoped wouldn’t be there—a werewolf’s stench.
He straightened and said, “Cydney, I found something.”
She gave him a bit of a double take seeing where he stood, but she didn’t mention him being over by the car already as she walked toward him. “What? What did you find?”
Once she reached his side, he pointed to the keys at his feet. She went to bend to pick them up, but he stopped her. “Don’t touch them yet.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to call the others. They’re more than likely on their way home. I don’t want our scents mixed with the ones on the keys until they’ve had a chance to smell them.”
Cydney gave him a confused look. “You mean you’re going to call Raed, Algar, Garrick, Dolf and Brand? And what the hell do you mean about them smelling the keys?”
He sighed. Her accompanying him had definitely put a wrench in the works. He needed the other warriors to see if they could pick up the werewolf’s trail. Since time was of the essence, they all needed to work together. And to better help them, a few of them would have to go wolf, since in their werewolf or wolf forms their sense of smell was even greater. Wulfric had to tell Cydney what he was at some point, and it looked as if that moment had arrived. With her friend missing, and the car being the only lead, he couldn’t see her letting him take her back to Maggie’s parent’s place.
“I’ll explain after they get here,” he said. Before she said anything else, he pulled out his mobile phone and dialed Raed. Once the warrior picked up, he said, “Raed, we have a bit of a situation going down. I need all of you to meet me in the parking lot at the nightclub called ‘The Nightclub.’”
“Trouble with one of Fenris’ get?” Raed asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid.”
“Are you still with Cydney? I thought you returned to the manor to take her home.”
“Yes, I’m still with her. I had taken her. It seems her friend, Maggie, has disappeared from the nightclub.”
“Shit. I’ll round everyone up and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Wulfric snapped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket. He looked at Cydney. “They’re on their way.”
“Why do I have the sudden feeling you’re keeping something from me?”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, not answering her question. He had no idea what Cydney’s reaction would be once the truth came out, but the fate of her friend weighed heavier on him at that moment. The chances of finding Maggie living decreased with every minute that went by.
After a little while, Cydney pushed away from Wulfric and paced, not too far away from him. The feeling he hid something from her wouldn’t go away. Even the look on his face said he was resigned about something. And the whole thing about not touching the keys until his friends arrived to smell them was just plain strange.
On one pass, she looked toward the entrance to the parking lot. The not doing anything, when deep down inside she knew something bad had happened to Maggie, did not sit well with her.
“They’ll be here very soon,” Wulfric said as she paced in his direction. “Try to stay calm.”
She stopped in front of him. “It’s a little hard to do that when my best friend is missing and all we’re doing is standing next to a car, waiting for your friends to arrive.
Are smelling scents part of what you do for your job?”
“Partly.”
“What? That’s it?”
“For now.”
“You’re just a fount of information, aren’t you?”
Wulfric didn’t have a chance to say anything when another Mercedes and Brand’s Lexus pulled into the parking lot. Five large men piled out of the cars and walked over to where she and Wulfric stood.
Raed took charge of the situation. From their previous meeting, Cydney had noticed he came across as the ‘head of the family.’ The others seemed to defer to him.
“What happened, Wulfric?” Raed asked in a brisk tone.
“When I went to drop off Cydney, her friend’s parents were outside. Maggie hadn’t arrived home, and the two girls she’d been with said the last time they’d seen her was a couple of hours ago when they’d left the nightclub together.” He motioned to the white car with a jerk of his head. “This is the car Maggie drove. It’s her mother’s.